Early Prep, Last-Minute Food

I like to have my food hot and piping fresh, but I also don’t have time to assemble things past Thursday night because my fruit platters business keeps me insanely busy on Friday. So I do it all in advance.

By Thursday my cauliflower florets and delicata squash rounds are oiled and spiced (paprika, turmeric, and salt) and on a foil pan in the fridge ready to bake the next day. Then I put 2 cups of jasmine rice in a pan, layered with drumsticks. I spice them with paprika, salt, and garlic powder and add 4 cups water (or 1 cup broth and 3 cups water). I cover the pan tightly and bake before Shabbos at 375°F (190°C) for 2–3 hours. The cauliflower and squash get baked at 425°F (220°C) for 40 minutes, or more if you like.

Potato kugel comes nice and hot because my sister- and brother-in-law send it over… Yes. We are blessed.

—Chaia Frishman, columnist

Ghondi

This is kinda like a Persian meat matzah ball. It’s a favorite for adults and kids alike! Even my completely Ashkenazi neighbors enjoyed it, so even if you aren’t used to some of the spices, don’t be scared off. I recently started making this in large batches and freezing the raw mixture in small containers that I can pull out each week and add to my soup.

The original recipe is from the spice store owner in the Bukharian shuk, then was refined with contributions from my mother-in-law, mother, and husband’s aunt.

• 1 lb (450 g) ground turkey (white or dark) or ground chicken
• ¾ cup chickpea flour
• 1 large onion, ground
• 1 Tbsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper, to taste
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp oil

Mix all the ingredients together. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and with wet hands roll the ghondi into large, golf-ball-sized balls.

Drop into the boiling water and allow to cook for half an hour to an hour. Then transfer to your chicken soup. Alternatively, you can boil them directly in the chicken soup.

—Sarina Laghaei, ad design

Overnight Ribs

I bake my ribs overnight at 200°F (90°C) on Thursday night. That way I cook when I’m sleeping. Meats take a long time to cook, and Fridays are too short to waste oven real estate. I also put up my chicken soup in a 16-quart pot on Thursday night and let it cook overnight.

—Naomi Nachman, columnist

Lettuce Salad with Roasted Fruit

My friend Sari Fishman made this salad once when they joined us for a Shabbos meal, and it’s become one of my new favorites. I make a large container of dressing so I always have it in the fridge, and the “fresh” prep is easy, just slicing and roasting produce I always have in the house, which I can just slip into the oven while it’s on anyway.

The dressing is also pretty easy, and it will keep in the fridge: ½ cup each of mayo and olive oil, 1½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1 cube frozen garlic, and 2 Tbsp maple syrup.

On Erev Shabbos: Slice 1–2 pears, 1–2 apples, and 1 red onion into thin slices. Spray with olive oil spray and roast at 400°F (200°C) until soft and caramelized (I put it in at whatever temperature the oven is on, especially when time is limited!).

On Shabbos, serve with lettuce, cubes of avocado, and sunflower seeds.

—Rachel Bachrach, associate editor

Pre-prepped Olive Chicken

This chicken, based on Tori Avey’s Mediterranean Olive Chicken, is a go-to all year long, but I especially appreciate it during the winter because it’s best left marinating from Thursday night and leaves just the baking part and none of the mess for Friday afternoon.

• 1–11/2 cups pitted green olives
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp lime zest
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4–6 chicken bottoms
• 1/4 cup white wine (preferably dry)

In a small bowl, mix the olives, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, honey, lime zest, red pepper flakes, oregano, salt, and pepper.

Place chicken bottoms in a glass baking dish upside down. (If you don’t have glass, I would suggest lining a disposable pan with parchment paper.) Coat the chicken evenly with the olive marinade. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, up to overnight (overnight is best).

Friday afternoon, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Remove the plastic wrap and cover the baking pan with parchment or foil. If using foil, pierce a few vents with a sharp knife around the outer edges. If using parchment, simply cover the dish loosely.

Bake for 1 hour, then remove the parchment or foil and flip the chicken right side up. Add the white wine and bake for an additional 30 minutes. It’s best if you can baste it periodically.

—Esti Vago, US production manager

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

This pie is perfect for short Fridays when there’s no time to make dessert, but you want to anyway! It takes about 5 minutes to put together and everyone loves it. Chocolate and peanut butter are always a good shidduch!

• 1 ready-made graham cracker pie crust
• 2 8-oz (225-g) containers pareve whipping cream
• 3 3.5-oz (100-g) bars bittersweet chocolate
• 3 heaping Tbsp peanut butter

Place pareve whip, chocolate, and peanut butter in a pot. Mix together over medium heat until chocolate is melted and all ingredients are mixed well together. Pour into pie crust.

When cool, decorate with chocolate curls, chopped roasted peanuts, and/or an additional whipped dessert whip. Freeze until ready to use.

Remove from freezer and put in fridge for approximately half an hour prior to serving.

—Brynie Greisman, recipe columnist

Cornflake-Coated Veggies

My kids are going through a phase where they won’t each vegetables they can recognize fully, so I borrowed a page from Susie Fishbein’s Kids in the Kitchen (original recipe is for Cauliflower Nuggets) and started covering everything in cornflake crumbs and baking. Voilà! Yummy, crunchy, and unrecognizable vegetables. I’ve disgused all sorts of things — zucchini slices, broccoli and cauliflower florets, green beans…

I put the vegetable into a bag and pour in some oil and an egg (or two, depending on how much I’m making). After shaking the bag for a few seconds (or handing it to my son to take care of), I put in enough cornflake crumbs to coat, along with some salt, pepper, and paprika. Repeat shaking, then spread it out on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 35 minutes, or until soft. It takes about five minutes and it’s usually the first thing I put in the oven so it’s cooking while I prep whatever else is next on my list.

—Devorah Cohen, graphics

Last-Minute Fruit Crisp

I try to do most of the prep and cooking before chatzos on Friday, so winter versus summer doesn’t make a big difference in my recipe-patchkeh levels. One thing I like saving for Fridays is putting a fruit crisp into the oven after the fish and chicken have baked so that we enter Shabbos with a sweet-smelling home. Wednesday or Thursday I’ll peel apples and pears and mix them with fresh or frozen cranberries in a ziplock bag. In a separate ziplock bag, I mix the ingredients for a crumble — equal parts whole wheat flour and oats, about half that of brown sugar, and enough Earth’s Balance or olive oil to keep it all together (add a generous dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, if you’re inspired). Press together until combined.

Friday afternoon I pour the fruit into a 9×13-inch (23×33-cm) pan, pour the crumble over it, and bake uncovered for about an hour.

—Sarah Faygie Berkowitz, columnist

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 825)